Tag Archives: Darick Robertson

Once again, Ennis avoids the big question the flashback raises. Hughie and Mother’s Milk are still talking–I think Hughie went for coffee–and there’s a bit more back story. Not a lot. Ennis skips about fourteen years. He does get in a big fight scene, which Robertson draws quite well.

But the issue–as none of the Mother’s Milk stuff really matters–is about the plans to put up the Freedom Tower in New York. Or whatever it’s going to be called. Ennis is using The Boys to talk about it being a dumb idea; given the last page, one would assume he’d go for rebuilding the World Trade Center.

As Brad Pitt once put it… “But you make it one floor taller.”

It’s an interesting use of a periodical and a love letter to New York City from an aficionado. Shame there isn’t a compelling story too.

CREDITS

Nothing Like It In The World, Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Ennis gets to Mother’s Milk’s story–and hints at something to do with the Female’s. M.M.’s story is a doozy. Ennis takes a somewhat traditional story–the giant corporation knowingly poisoning people with toxic waste–and adds the superhuman element.

It’s devastating at times, even with some of the more amusing visuals. It’s like Ennis and Robertson are setting up jokes, then knocking the reader for being shallow enough to prepare for them.

The only real problem is how Mother’s Milk tells the story. He just tells Hughie. It’s not just without prompting, Hughie’s busy asking about other things. M.M. just ignores those questions. The lack of a good delivery system is what hurts the story–especially since there’s no resolution to the big question the story raises.

Still, it’s a darn good issue. Robertson does some outstanding art; additionally, Ennis’s thoughtful 9/11 observations need airing.

CREDITS

Nothing Like It In The World, Part One; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Aviña; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Ennis brings back a little of the series’s jovial spirit (jovial in a disturbed sense, of course), but not much of it.

He splits the issue between the Boys as they recover from the events of the previous issue and the evil company guys. The issue starts with an entirely unexpected, awful moment, but Ennis eases his way into it; he removes the shock value.

But he does get that shock value for the finish. There’s a lot of possible foreshadowing, a bit with Hughie’s emotional trauma; Mother’s Milk has the best scene in the issue. Until the shock finish, Butcher’s got about the weakest. Ennis gives Butcher a functional subplot, while everyone else just gets some time and space.

The end’s a surprise and a scary one.

It’s a fine issue; Ennis smartly gives the series a breather. Robertson handles the seven or eight changes in tone quite well.

CREDITS

Rodeo Fuck; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

I think I reread the finish to this issue five times. You want to go through and pick out the people dying so you can enjoy it.

Ennis never did find a story for this arc. It’s seven issues to have a brief conversation between Butcher and the evil corporate. The whole G-Men thing is something of a red herring; Ennis even finds a way to make the reader feel bad for enjoying it.

His ability to suck the humor out of the situation–and even the memory of the previous issues’ humor–is astounding.

Robertson’s art is great. He’s got a big sequence at the end, but the whole issue is a very difficult talking heads scene. He nails it.

There’s not much to say… It’s an excellently produced comic book; Ennis and Robertson know what they’re doing. The Boys has been serious before, but never this serious.

CREDITS

We Gotta Go Now, Conclusion; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Yeah, once again… not entirely sure why Ennis is dragging out this arc. Mother’s Milk’s investigation is downright interesting–the G-Men kidnap kids and shoot them up with the compound to turn them into G-kids or whatever–but there’s nothing else in the issue.

Butcher and Hughie both have Saint Patrick’s Day adventures. Hughie’s with the G-Wiz guys for a while; he comes up with an interesting explanation for their behavior. Ennis is branching out from X-Men jokes this issue, really considering things, but it’s unclear why. The G-Men seem like an aside.

Butcher’s Saint Patrick’s Day–Hughie eventually joins him–is basically jokes about people who get hammered on Saint Patrick’s Day. Then, later on, Ennis has some observations on American ethnic identity. It’s interesting stuff to talk about… in a bar maybe, but not necessarily to read about in a comic.

It’s filler.

CREDITS

We Gotta Go Now, Part Five; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

There have been insightful parodies of Superman and Batman before–Ennis has done them in The Boys–but his take on Professor X is something unexpected. This whole “G-Men” arc is unexpected, but Ennis has an observation about Professor G I didn’t see coming. X-Men keep resurrecting because Professor X is a nut. Obviously, that observation isn’t accurate (comic publishing realities), but it does say something about the end product.

Besides that moment–and some amusing stuff at the G-Mansion where Ennis gets to make fun of the X-Men a little–there’s not much to Hughie’s plot in this issue. Sure, it’s funny, but Ennis’s subplot with Mother’s Milk investigating is much better.

The Frenchman and the Female both get some page time, but neither has anything to do. Butcher’s barely around, but his moment’s a funny one.

It’s okay. Robertson’s a little lazy. It’s fine.

CREDITS

We Gotta Go Now, Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

At first, I was going to concentrate on Ennis using Animal House as the model for his X-Men teenage team knock-off. I haven’t read a teen X-Men book in a while, but I can’t believe Marvel would ever have the stones to do it so honestly. The knockoff scenes are funny enough (and very self-aware), but Ennis uses them to lead into Hughie and Annie’s romance subplot.

But then I realized this issue of The Boys might be the first where Ennis evenly distributes time between the cast. Hughie’s undercover, Butcher is hanging out with the Legend (they’re talking in foreshadowing), Mother’s Milk is investigating, the Frenchman and the Female are playing board games… It’s a very full issue.

Ennis doesn’t end on any kind of a cliffhanger, which leaves the finish dry, but it’s a solid issue. M.M.’s investigation is probably the best thing.

CREDITS

We Gotta Go Now, Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Well, Ennis gets to ripping on Marvel and, wow, does it ever go well for him. He goes for the X-Men, which I didn’t expect. There’s a lot about their popularity and the number of teams and so on. It’s all quite well-done.

There’s a definite change in tone (from DC to Marvel)–the Boys have a different kind of target. It’s nice Ennis is able to toggle between the two companies. I hadn’t expected him to cover the X-Men at all, much less so deftly.

There are a couple good subplot starts–these scenes are the issue’s more seriously–but the last page is simply amazing and makes one forget about everything else. Ennis goes for a big laugh and gets it; the rest of the issue just has smiles. Maybe he was building up.

Robertson’s art’s good. He gets to do both funny and gross.

CREDITS

We Gotta Go Now, Part One; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

The Boys has been gross, it’s been mean, it’s been disturbing, but Ennis is at his most relentlessly depressing here. The superhero team tries to stop the last plane on 9/11 to disastrous results. There’s not even humor to the “funny” parts, because it’s just too much.

Ennis apparently set out to make an event worse than the actual one.

Robertson does well on the art. There’s implied conflict for the Wonder Woman analog and most of it comes from the art.

Ennis–possibly unintentionally–moves the series into a new position. Before, it was funny (clean or dirty) send-ups of familiar–DC–superheroes. But after this issue, featuring the incredible actions of the superhero team… it’s a condemnation of the genre. But a measured one, I suppose. The superheroes get their powers “realistically,” which might be an out. It’s a qualified condemnation.

It’s a bloody disturbing issue.

CREDITS

I Tell You No Lie, G.I., Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Ennis continues his recounting of superheroes in Boys world. It goes reasonably well–Butcher gets laugh during his chat with the Superman guy–but Ennis is too obvious with some of the other stuff.

He’s got Annie in trouble with one of her teammates, only she doesn’t know it yet. Foreshadowing! Maybe it’s Robertson. His quality is up and down this issue. At one point I thought he was doing an homage to young John Byrne, but after a few more awkward panels, I realized he’s just rushing.

The exposition still works, but the story’s not compelling enough. Ennis needs real wow moments to make the Boys superhero origin special and he doesn’t have any. Especially since he’s taking the time to explain the 9/11 reference. It worked better as a surprise versus a plot point.

It’s a pleasant enough read, but Ennis is dragging it on too long.

CREDITS

I Tell You No Lie, G.I., Part Two; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Ennis opens with a war story–well, at least a few pages of one–and it’s nice to see he and Robertson doing it. Ennis’s zeal for the genre (along with his cynicism) play well in The Boys‘s flashback, as the Legend tells Hughie all about the history of superheroes. This issue covers until the Vietnam War and a little beyond, but I was mostly just wondering about the cover date and when Irredeemable started.

You can only do so much with Superman analogues, sure, but….

There’s also some stuff with Butcher facing off with said Superman analogue, which might end up with Ennis going over some of Butcher’s history too. For comic relief, he’s got the big team superheroes who aren’t cool enough to go on the secret meeting to the Boys.

It’s basically an “all exposition” issue, but Ennis and Robertson are gleeful enough they keep it moving.

CREDITS

I Tell You No Lie, G.I., Part One; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

It’s a little more traditional issue of The Boys. More traditional because Ennis returns to the series being about Butcher and Hughie, which he’s been moving away from a little. There’s still the other stuff, he just focuses on them for the finish.

The cliffhanger resolution is good–Ennis actually paces it over about half the issue. It’s a satisfactory payoff, mostly because of the unexpected ways Ennis extends it. He’s able to make the absurdly, darkly, disturbingly comedic touching. The Boys, so far, is Ennis at his most tender.

There’s a little of the Mother’s Milk subplot; again, it feels like Ennis is trying too hard. It’s too mysterious–it can’t possibly have a fulfilling payoff. As far as supporting cast, the Frenchman and the Female appear for one scene. Annie gets a big scene to herself… odd as she’s not a Boys team member.

It’s an excellent issue.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Conclusion; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; editor, Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Contemporaneously…

• Scalped 15 (May 2008)
• War Is Hell: The First Flight Of The Phantom Eagle 1 (May 2008)
• The Damned: Prodigal Sons 2 (May 2008)
• The Immortal Iron Fist 13 (May 2008)
• B.P.R.D.: 1946 5 (May 2008)

Ennis is a funny, funny man. Even when he’s being cruel, he’s funny. He’s also come up with a good way–maybe–to excuse Hughie for killing that awful teenage superhero again. The teen hero is now a zombie and pitiful, but Ennis figured it out.

The issue’s mostly split between Hughie and Annie. She’s spying on her teammates, he’s working on his assignment with the teenage sidekicks. They meet up at the park and then Ennis comes up with another hilarious scene. One has to wonder if he just writes them down as they come to him and fits them into stories later.

Mother’s Milk has a mysterious scene, which teases for later. Ennis better be holding out something good for him. After finally giving the Frenchman and the Female a story, Mother’s Milk deserves one too.

It’s another excellent issue… with one of the most frightening cliffhangers ever.

CREDITS

Good for the Soul, Part Three; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Darick Robertson; colorist, Tony Avina; letterer, Simon Bowland; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.

Contemporaneously…

• Scalped 14 (April 2008)
• The Damned: Prodigal Sons 1 (April 2008)
• The Immortal Iron Fist: Orson Randall and the Green Mist of Death 1 (April 2008)
• Criminal 3 (April 2008)
• B.P.R.D.: 1946 4 (April 2008)